Saints & Martyrs
by Animegirl1129
Summary: BDSxGH JaSpin. The Saints of South Boston move on to Port Charles, New York to take out the rivaling mob organizations.
1. Chapter 1

[Saints & Martyrs]

**_Okay, couple things. One: lots and lots of character death. It's the Saints, what did you expect, puppies and - you know what? Let's stay away from the Saints and animals. Just to be safe. Two: Ugh, also, this fic takes place in kind of an AU where the Zacchara's aren't around. Three: OC's are mine. All 3 parts are done, I'll post the next one... on Sunday, maybe, or late tomorrow night. Character's you recognize aren't mine. Enjoy!_**

* * *

**-I-**

Just shy of midnight, an exhausted and haggard looking Jason Morgan steps into Sonny's office in the newly remodeled coffee shop. He stops just in front of the desk and waits for Sonny to end his phone call.

"You handle it?" Sonny inquires, once he sets the phone down.

"Donovan's shipment is somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic." Jason assures. "It went down near Pier 13."

The elder nods, absorbing the information. "So they were trying to slip through our territory?"

Jason is hardly surprised, Spinelli had been the one to find the intel that said so, and very rarely was Spinelli's information incorrect. "You know they're going to retaliate, four of their men went down with the boat."

"And you'll be ready when they do. Better yet, get your freak boy," He rolls his eyes at Jason's automatic glare. "Sorry, computer geek? To try and figure out what they're up to before they do it."

"Spinelli's already working on that angle," He sighs, and decides instead to explain the plan that he and Spinelli had concocted earlier. "I'm sending a decoy shipment out tomorrow with our real one, so if they do strike back at us, we'll be covered."

Sonny seems to like that idea, and he hums in approval. "Make sure the cops stay away from this, Jason, I don't need more problems running around. The damned Irish are enough of a hassle." The Irish Mob have been a presence in Port Charles nearly as long as the Corinthos-Morgan Organization has, but the Irish have had more of a penchant for gun running and prostitution as opposed to the always lucrative drug trade, until recently, anyway. Now they're running product through Sonny's territory, and an all out war has arisen as a result of their actions.

"I know." Jason replies, just as the door opens and Spinelli appears.

"Pardon the interruption, Mr. Sir, Stone Cold," The hacker waves nervously, his trademark messenger bag slung over his shoulder and laptop balanced in his hands, "but the Jackal has discovered some most interesting information on the implementer of Irish actions."

Jason steps toward the door, and Sonny waits for the English version.

"Donovan's enforcer, as it were." He amends, when he notes the intense staring coming from the older man.

"Alright, let's go." Jason presses, a hand on Spinelli's shoulder as he leads him safely away from Sonny. "Show me what you've got."

***

"Look'it this." A folded over newspaper lands, quite unexpectedly, on a sleeping Murphy MacManus' stomach, pulling him abruptly into consciousness.

"Th' fuck is it?" The younger brother grumbles, grabbing the paper and trying to will the words into focus on the page. 'Trio of Boating Accidents Ruled Mob Related – 12 Dead' the bolded headline reads.

Conner sits down beside him, producing another article – 'Mob Violence Builds in Port Charles' – and then another – 'Morgan and Corinthos found Not Guilty in Mob Death'.

"Our next targets, then?"

"Aye, Port Charles, New York." The elder answers, and grabs Murphy's pillow out from under him. "I'll pack us up, yer gonna call Smecker."

***

The penthouse is dark when Jason returns after a lengthy interrogation with Commissioner Scorpio. He can't believe that their plan fell apart so spectacularly. Three of his men are dead – nothing compared to Donovan's nine, but still – and both the real and decoy shipments joined Donovan's underwater. There's nothing else that he can do now, except wait for Spinelli to figure out the next move.

"Stone Cold," A voice greets, and evidently the penthouse isn't as dark as he thought. Spinelli is jogging down the stairs, a bottle of orange soda in hand. "Perchance you have a moment?"

"Did you find something on Donovan's plans?"

Spinelli bites his lip and frowns. "Alas, no. Not as of yet, but I assure you, the Ace of Cyberspace has several quite promising leads and will undoubtedly find something soon." He pauses, and the two of them end up seated on the sofa. "What the Jackal wanted to speak to you about was of a decidedly more… personal nature."

Jason knows where this is going now. "About what happened last week?"

"Affirmative."

The incident in question was also one attributable to the Irish. The leader of the Irish Mob, Callum Donovan, thought it a nice touch to ambush Jason and Spinelli on their way home. Both escaped unscathed, but Donovan's three men had not. The adrenaline rush from their close encounter had ended with Spinelli pinned to a wall in a nearby alleyway by a Jason in fierce over-protective mode, and a rather heated make out session.

Neither had spoken of it since.

"What about it?"

Spinelli stutters for a moment, undoubtedly trying to regain the nerve to say whatever it is he's attempting to. "Well, that is… the Jackal… I think that perhaps we should take the opportunity to explore the avenues that were discovered as a result of our unanticipated encounter in the alleyway. That is, if Stone Cold would be at all inclined to-"

Jason cuts off Spinelli's rambling suggestion. "This isn't really the time to be talking about what happened. There's too much going on, with the Irish, and now the cops. Sorry, Spinelli, but not now." He stands and makes for the stairs and the chance to get some sleep before he has to go impede another of Donovan's attempts at control. "I'm going to bed. Wake me up if you find anything on the Irish."

"Very well, Stone Cold."

***

"Agent Thomas Raynor, FBI?" An unfamiliar voice calls out from the station entrance.

"Yes?" The man in question answers, stopping in his path toward his desk. "Can I help you?"

The man who called him offers a hand upon approach. "Agent Paul Smecker, also FBI. I'm here with orders to take over your investigation of mob activity in this town. I'll need any files you have on our players, your desk, and an onion bagel with cream cheese."

Raynor looks quite irked by the newcomer's request, and rightly so. However, upon investigation of those orders – 'What do you mean 'off the case'? I've been working this case for almost a year! What do you mean 'exactly'? Very well. Yes, I would like to continue working for the FBI – Smecker's claims prove true, and after clearing off his desk and leaving the files, he sends one of the cops out on a bagel run and takes his leave.

Once alone with the files, Smecker picks up his cell phone and dials the number Murphy left him with. "Alright, boys. I've got the information."

***

The phone is on speaker as Smecker reads them off the names and pertinent details of the targets of the FBI Investigation. Conner scribbles down the information and Murphy works on inventorying their freshly obtained supplies.

On the Irish side of the mob there are five major players.

The Mob Boss, Callum Donovan. His enforcer is known as Seamus O'Malley, he does all the dirty work for the organization. Donovan, however, is never without his two personal body guards - Adam Lyons and Kevin Wheaton, who both have records as long as Smecker is tall, apparently. The lawyer that continues to get them off on any and all major charges is Peter Doyle. Numerous underlings and soldiers abound, but none are as involved as those five. Due to their previous dealings, Smecker warns, they have both a plethora of firearms on hand, and are likely to have some company of the female persuasion around as well. Notably, Shannon Connolly, supposed girlfriend of O'Malley.

On the opposing side, there are six persons of interest. Sonny Michael Corinthos Jr., the leader of the organization. Enforcer and occasional leader, as well, is Jason Morgan. He's been arrested countless times, but never convicted, except for on one occasion, where he supposedly shot his roommate in the foot. Two main bodyguards are charged with protecting the two of them – brothers, Max and Milo Giambetti. Another man, Cody Paul, seems to be one of their strongest powers after Morgan. Their insanely talented lawyer – Diane Miller, won't be a target, but is still worth mentioning. The last player is a computer hacker that the FBI seems terribly interested in. There are even charges of treason against him. Damian Spinelli, his name is, with known aliases – The Jackal and the Assassin of Cyberspace, and he lives with Jason Morgan. The Corinthos-Morgan organization has its soldiers and lesser players as well, but none of remarkable interest after the six main players.

Upon the successful relay of all required intel on Smecker's part, the call ends, and the MacManus brothers are one step closer to carrying out their newest project.

***

Spinelli and Maxie walk slowly along the docks in the early afternoon. Jason likely doesn't know that his self proclaimed protégé is out and about unprotected, but the young hacker felt it important to talk to Maxie concerning Jason's avoidance of certain topics.

"Give me a minute here, Spinelli." She half laughs at him. "I'm still registering the idea of, well, Jason and any sort of romantic activity. And I mean, I know you and I didn't work out, but that's not really what I expected out of you, either." Maxie muses in contemplation as they continue their wandering. "He won't let you talk about it all?"

"The Jackal only made the one attempt, and indeed Stone Cold has a point as to the nature of the timing of such an inquiry…"

She shakes her head. "Nonsense. He's not out here patrolling every second of every day."

Spinelli loses the chance to respond to Maxie's argument when they hear voices around the corner.

"What's that?" Maxie asks, but she nor Spinelli recognize the voices speaking. Two in unison. Something in Latin.

"_In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti._" The rapport of two guns firing echoes and Spinelli pulls Maxie further back, ducking them behind a stack of crates.

"Did they just shoot someone?" Maxie whispers to him, but Spinelli shushes her further when he hears footsteps approaching. Two shadowed figures walk past them in silence, and luckily don't notice them in their hiding place. "Spinelli!" She hisses at him once they've gone. "Those guys just shot someone!"

Bravely – or stupidly, as Jason would probably argue – Spinelli slips out from behind the crates, motioning for Maxie to remain, and ventures around the corner. Abruptly, as his stomach turns and his feet turn to concrete, he wishes he hadn't.

There, right there, on the dock, lays the body of what was once a human being. Most of it is intact, but for the head, which has twin exit wounds from where eyes should have been. On them rest pennies.

A hand held over his mouth to contain himself as he draws even closer, he realizes that the body is that of one of the Irishmen. Their lawyer – Peter Doyle.

He returns to their hiding spot speechless and unable to make his eyes focus. "The Jackal vehemently insists that Maximista not glimpse the sight I just witnessed." He says, when he can finally form words again. "I need to inform Stone Cold."

"You mean the police," She corrects. "Those guys just shot and killed someone, Spinelli. Right in front of us!"

"Technically, they were graciously unaware of our presence, which means they did not do so right in front of us. Additionally, their unfortunate fatality was part of the opposing organization and therefore Stone Cold and Mr. Sir need be made aware of the issue, as well."

Maxie sighs. "You call Jason, I'll call Mac."

"Very well." Spinelli answers.

***

"Ya would think they'd give the man a fuckin' body guard." Conner snorts, as he sets his gun on a cardboard box table in the vacant house they're squatting in during their stay in lovely Port Charles.

"Shame ev'ry one isn't that easy." Murphy snorts. "Might actually get boring."

The blonde rolls his eyes. "Yer turn ta pick a mark." He tosses their list to his younger-by-moments brother (as they did finally work that one out) and waits for his choice.

"I say we go fer Corinthos' soldier. Cody, aye?" He suggests, after drawing a line through Doyle's name. Typically, they go for underlings first, because it gets the higher ups to make stupid mistakes and so that there aren't a bunch of frantic soldiers running around endangering innocents.

Conner nods in agreement. "Mm. Good choice, Murph."

***

Commissioner Scorpio gets to the scene before Jason arrives. And upon setting his forensic team on the body and setting up a perimeter, he turns to Maxie and Spinelli. "Let me guess, Spinelli, you know absolutely nothing about any of this, is that right?"

"That would be correct, Your Commissionership." Spinelli answers, managing as much of a smile as he can with the images of Doyle's body still fresh in his mind. "In fact, I don't know anything about it at all. Maximista and I did, however, hear two men speaking prior to the gunshots."

Curious, though always doubtful of involvement, Mac presses the statement. "And what did you hear?"

"It wasn't in English." Maxie answers before Spinelli can. "They were both saying the same thing, though. At the same time."

"Indeed, as fair Maximista said. It was in Latin." Spinelli amends, and Mac takes notes before one of his men wave him over.

"Spinelli," Jason calls, spotting his roommate. "What happened? What were you doing out here without a bodyguard?" He demands, protectiveness having returned as he drags the young hacker a few feet away from Maxie. "Did Donovan's man come after you?"

Spinelli shifts uncomfortably. "He didn't. In fact, someone went after him. It was Doyle – Our Irate Irishmen's lawyer who was so violently slain." Quickly, while Mac is occupied with forensic findings, he relates the story in full to Stone Cold, who looks less than pleased with the information. "From your expression, I believe I can extrapolate that it was not anyone linked to the Corinthos-Morgan Organization that acted in this."

Jason shakes his head. "No one I know of. And two of them? No."

"Perhaps someone has gone rogue on Donovan's side of things?"

"Two people on his side is just as unlikely as two people on our side." The elder reasons and they're back to square one. "Come on, Mac can take Maxie home." He says, as he spots an unfamiliar character cross the tape. He's clad in an FBI windbreaker, and that is about the time Jason decides Spinelli needs to be away from there. "You're coming with me."

***

Conner and Murphy find themselves sneaking into the basement of a small restaurant called Kelly's. The basement used to be a club, but is now little more than a dusty hangout for teenagers. However, it is evidently a place that Cody occasionally uses to have meetings with some of the other Corinthos-Morgan soldiers. Tonight being one of those nights, the Saints have come prepared.

"Oi, there's seven of 'em, countin' our guy." Conner sighs and then moves out of the way so Murphy can block the back exit of the club. Only one way in and out, now. "Finally, somethin' a bit challengin'."

"Ya ready?"

Conner chambers a round in his gun.

***

"You wanted to talk." Jason says, once they're off the streets and back at Casa De Stone Cold. "Talk."

Caught rather off guard, Spinelli stares for a moment before he realizes what Jason is suggesting. "Oh. Well, as you know, things between Maximista and I did not work out. And, since it has indeed been a while since those events… Ugh, as I said before, I think we should give… what happened in the alley… a serious chance." It's not as eloquent or he had been hoping for, but put on the spot as he was, it comes out nicely.

In answer, one of Jason's hands fists into his shirt, hauling him closer as the other finds its way into his unruly hair as he is drawn into another kiss.

***

Bullets fly in a rather intense firefight as Conner and Murphy take on Cody and six of Corinthos' men. With the element of surprise on their side, and that back exit blocked, Cody is incapacitated and the other six fall in a rather short amount of time.

"Fuck!" Murphy shouts, as one of the men get a shot off as he goes down.

"Y'alright, Murph?" Conner demands, even as he sends another down.

The younger pauses long enough to reign himself in and ignore the pain, making quick inventory of his injury. "Yeh. Flesh wound, s'all." He says, as he takes his place beside Conner behind the dubiously conscious, kneeling, Cody Paul.

"_And shepherds we shall be, for Thee my Lord, for Thee…_"

***

A rather insistent knock on the door disrupts the impassioned series of kisses that have managed to multiply between Jason and Spinelli as they explore the beginnings of their newly discovered relationship.

But, given the circumstances, both take the interruption seriously. In the midst of a mob war, there are more important things to be dealt with. Especially when they learn what their impatient guests are attempting to tell them.

It's Max and Milo, looking quite shell-shocked by whatever news they bring.

"There was a shootout in The Cellar. Mike called it in when he heard the gunfire. Six of our men and Cody are dead." Max somberly informs Jason and Spinelli, who both find themselves frozen as the news sinks in.

Jason is the first to return to reality. "Did any of our guys take out any of the shooters?"

"Not a trace of any hits on their side. Most of them didn't even get a chance to fire. Cody was killed the same way that Irish guy was earlier. Pennies and all." Milo elaborates, having been the one who spoke with Commissioner Scorpio. "Maybe it was Doyle's buddies retaliating, if they thought it was us."

"It wasn't us, and the even more Irate Irish ones would not be using a method they thought was attributable to us to kill our men. They would have employed their own signature in carrying out the attack." Spinelli counters, and the realization strikes him. "Perhaps we have a vigilante type involved? Going about dramatically slaying known mobsters on both sides of the playing field."

Jason doesn't agree or disagree with Spinelli's theory for the moment. "Milo, you are now Spinelli's personal body guard. Max, we're going to check this out and then I want you to stay with Sonny. We need to make sure we're covered from all angles on this." He casts another glance at Spinelli before he ushers Max out the door. "Stay here."

***

"For Christ's sake, Conn, would ya get on with it?"

"Well, if ya could hold still fer one fuckin' secon'! Oi." Conner grumbles, as he works to patch the not-serious wound on Murphy's side.

The younger huffs and stops his squirming, which allows Conner to successfully bandage the gash just above his brother's hip.

"Aye, wassat so hard?" The elder snarks, and tosses a grumbling Murphy a fresh shirt. "Now c'mon. We're hittin' the Irish bodyguards next."

***

"What the hell is going on today?" Mac groans in exasperation as he ducks under the yellow crime scene tape with Lucky on his heels. Two forensic techs are already examining the scene and one of them motions the Commissioner over. "What've you got?"

"Seven bodies. All but this one were killed by bullets in active stances. They were all fighting back or running. This guy is the same as the one from the docks earlier. Two shots – probably from two guns, just like before – to the back of the head. All of the bodies have pennies on the eyes, though." The one whose speaking explains, as his partner finishes with bagging their evidence. "We'll let you know more later."

Mac nods, and steps aside to let the men pass. "Alright. What do you make of this, Lucky?"

"Maybe someone not in either of our gangs. The Irish wouldn't be using the same M.O. as whoever killed the lawyer, but they certainly have motive. Maybe a hit man or a concerned citizen taking the law into their own hands whose making plays against both sides?"

"Go interview Mike Corbin, see if he heard or saw anything that could help us." He instructs, just as the annoying FBI Agent who replaced Raynor shows up. "Great."

"Ah, Commissioner Scorpio. Is upstairs a good place to find a decent café latte, then?" Smecker inquires, as he nonchalantly enters the crime scene. "I, ooh. This is messy." The man kneels beside the body of Cody Paul – or what's recognizably left of him, anyway.

Mac ignores the coffee comment and instead relays what they've learned as well as Lucky's vigilante theory.

Smecker doesn't seem convinced. "Maybe that's just what they want you to think." He's become somewhat of an expert at making local cops stray from vigilante theories. He simply twists all arguments he made to the contrary in the original investigation in South Boston.

"Corinthos isn't that smart. And I don't see either side killing their own men, anyway."

"They would if they had traitors among them. Really, what is Cody Paul, known associate of Corinthos and Morgan, doing down here with a bunch of men? If he were organizing some sort of rebellion against his bosses they would have had to kill him."

The Commissioner looks less than thrilled in having to acknowledge the credibility of that theory, but begrudgingly, he does so. "We'll look into it."

***

Jason and Max burst into the office area of Sonny's house without so much as a knock on the door. "We have a problem, Boss." Max says, before Jason can, and that certainly does get Sonny's attention.

"Donovan tried something?"

"Someone had Cody killed." Jason answers, and flips on the television to one of the various news stations reporting the scattered details they've uncovered. "And six others."

"_It is unknown at this time whether or not this massacre is related to today's earlier incident on the docks. The police have yet to confirm or deny how these killings play into the rising incidents of mob violence._" The reporter on channel 2 accounts, set up in front of Kelly's.

As expected, Sonny skips the logical thinking step of absorbing this news and slams his fist down hard on the table. "And you're plan to retaliate is?"

"I think we might have a bigger problem than the Irish." Jason answers, opting to go with Spinelli's theory for the moment. "Cody and Doyle were both killed the same way. Which means either the Irish killed their own lawyer and then went after our guys, or, someone outside of both organizations killed them."

Sonny waves off the theory. "Donovan's behind this, Jason. I'm sure of it. He's trying to throw us off. Now, get over there and deal with this before it gets even more out of hand."

Jason sighs. No convincing Sonny now. He'll just have to figure it out on his own. "Yeah, whatever." He nods to Max in parting, who mirrors the movement, but Sonny stops him.

"Go with Jason, I'm going to go to the safe house for now. I don't need any protection." Sony waves dismissively, and Max follows Jason as he takes his leave.


	2. Chapter 2

[Saints & Martyrs]

**_Okay, couple things. One: lots and lots of character death. It's the Saints, what did you expect, puppies and - you know what? Let's stay away from the Saints and animals. Just to be safe. Two: Ugh, also, this fic takes place in kind of an AU where the Zacchara's aren't around. Three: OC's are mine. All 3 parts are done, I'll post the last part in a day or two. Character's you recognize aren't mine. Enjoy!_**

* * *

**-II-**

"Looks like we'll be goin' fer more than jus' the bodyguards here, aye?" Murphy points out, when they happen upon all four of their remaining Irish targets all in a meeting, undoubtedly over what has already arisen as a result of the Saints' presence in Port Charles.

"So it seems," Conner agrees with a smirk. "Two ways in. Ya cover the fron' an' I'll get the back." After his brother agrees, the duo splits up, rounding the building until they stand on opposite ends.

In sync, they both burst through their respective entrances and their element of surprise plays out quite nicely. The four men are all scrambling for their guns, and the body guards angle themselves in front of their employer as if that will save him.

Conner puts a round through Whelan's shoulder and another through his stomach, and he goes down before he even gets a shot off. Murphy, in the meantime, works on Lyons, sending him to the ground with a well placed head shot.

Left with just Donovan and O'Malley, the brothers find that there is another in their midst.

In search of a mobile and evasive Seamus O'Malley, Murphy's gun lands on one of the girls Smecker warned them about. He's going to assume its Shannon Connolly, given that O'Malley has taken her up as a human shield.

"Conner!" Murphy demands, gun frozen. O'Malley aims the trigger at her head instead of at the younger of the Saints when he realizes that his hostage has stopped their not-so-merciless killing spree. "Fuck, Conn!"

"Wha'?" The elder snaps, his focus on Donovan.

Murphy, takes in the sobbing woman's appearance. She's probably six months pregnant. "Oh, this is jus' fuckin' perfect."

Conner manages to urge Donovan toward his enforcer with the aid of his weapon and upon seeing the dilemma that has arisen, his sentiments echo his brothers. "How the fuck'd that happen?"

Shannon looks, while hysterical, less than thrilled about her current position. Acting out of her own safety, as well as her baby's, and with the fact that the intruders seem genuinely hindered by her placement in the room, she shoves her rat of a boyfriend away from her. "Forget this mess." She declares, and scrambles away from the stumbling man.

The brother's exchange baffled looks at this turn of events.

"The hell are you two waiting for?" Shannon asks, her question not directed at O'Malley and Donovan, but rather the strangers, even as her now presumably ex-boyfriend curses at her. "Shoot the bastard!"

"Don' 'ave to tell us twice." Murphy answers, and squeezes the trigger while Conner keeps his gun trained on the group's leader. Another kill shot, and Seamus O'Malley becomes another name they can cross off their list.

Conner steps closer to their final Irish target. "Murph, take her outside or somethin', will ya?" He insists, and Murphy complies, leading her into the adjoining room. There's only one exit, which Murphy blocks, just in case, and then returns to help Conner dispatch Donovan.

"C'mon," Murphy says, dragging the now unarmed Callum Donovan to the center of the room. He knocks the man to his knees and he and Conner step up behind him.

"_And shepherds we shall be, for Thee my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command.__ And we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti." _They fire off their shots in unison, and the body slumps forward rather ungracefully.

Shannon leans out the doorway to the room once the gunshots end. "Um, are you finished?" She asks, and steps back out to join them when they answer. She avoids looking at the blood covered walls and floor, and especially the bodies. "…Thank you?" She supplies, awkwardly.

"Er, you're welcome?" Conner answers, just as awkwardly. "Ya should get outta here b'fore the cops show up. Do ya 'ave anywhere ya can go? Someone to, ugh, help out?" He gestures to her belly.

"I… I have an apartment and some cash." She supplies, as the boys pocket their weapons. "But, my good for nothing boyfriend just tried to get me and his baby killed, so, no. No one."

The brother's exchange yet another look. The blonde one grins.

"Mum?" Murphy questions, already catching on to his brother's plan. It will give the girl someplace safe, away from any remaining mob associates and the police, and keep the witness to their crimes an ocean away.

"Mum." Conner echoes, and Murphy laughs at him. "Oi, she's always wanted a girl." He turns back to Shannon. "Y'ever been to Ireland?"

***

"What're you doing?"Milo inquires, as Spinelli types frantically away at his laptop.

It takes a moment for the Jackal to respond due to his intense focus on the information flying across the screen, but eventually, as he makes quick work of an informational databases core systems, he seems to find what he's looking for. "The Ace of Cyberspace is attempting to prove his vigilante conjecture as nothing but pure fact."

Milo sits beside the hacker on the couch. "And how're you doing that?"

"The Latin verse Maximista and I heard when Defense Doyle was slain translates to 'In name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.' It's a prayer. The information currently being Jackal'd involves any killings that involve it."

The computer beeps at him, suggesting that it has completed its search of the database.

"Oh. That is quite alarming."

"What?" Spinelli turns the computer toward Milo, so he can read the number himself. "102!?"

Spinelli nods, a twin look of shock on his own face. He reclaims the computer and scrolls through some of the information. "Some of which are multiple murders, it appears." All of the names on the list seem, upon further research, to have been bad men. Whether suspected or confirmed, no one on that list was an innocent person. Killers, rapists, thieves and extortionists, hit men. Mobsters seem most plentiful on the list.

The trail of bodies leads to two brothers, twins actually. Conner and Murphy MacManus. Their father was previously in on the operation, but has since passed away. The Saints, they're called. They don't harm women or children, but men are fair game, and they don't stop till they've gotten their targets.

"We must warn Stone Cold immediately!"

***

Jason and Max are approaching the building that the Irish are known to congregate in when Jason's phone lets out a shrill ring. Quickly, he grabs the device to silence it, and spots Spinelli's name flashing across the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

***

Now that Shannon Connolly is out of the way and on her way to the airport, the Saints can focus on their normal post-killing procedures.

"Fuck, dy'a hear that, Conn?" The younger asks, freezing in the process of placing pennies on what's left of Donovan's eyes.

Conner is already staring at the door, and he motions Murphy outside and closer to the sound. They're ducked around a corner and unseen to the speaking intruders.

"S'Morgan and one o' the bodyguards, right?"

***

"Okay. I'll be careful, Spinelli. Don't worry." Jason insists, upon hearing of Spinelli's discovery, and hangs up.

Max doesn't look pleased by the sound of the conversation. "What'd he find out?"

Jason sighs, and looks to the building once more. "He hacked into some government site and figured out that he was right about his theory. The guys we're dealing with have killed countless mobsters and killers in the last 10 years. They've never been caught."

"Oh. Great news."

***

"What we coulda done with a wiz kid like that on our side, yeah?" Conner muses, as they eavesdrop on the conversation. "We should pay 'im a visit soon, b'fore he can find out about our friend on the inside, yeah?"

Murphy nods, and checks the ammo in his gun. "If he hasn't already, ya mean."

Conner pulls out his gun as well, preparing to ambush the two unsuspecting targets.

***

The sound of the gunshot comes before they even know what's going on. Then Max is down, fatally wounded, by the time Jason has his gun out. "Max!"He shouts, but he knows the guard is down – it was a head shot after all, and those aren't particularly survivable.

He fires blindly in the direction the kill-shot would have had to have come from and hears faint movements from the area.

Another bullet flies towards him, and ricochets off of the wall by him. He ducks behind a nearby crate, and is both grateful and annoyed by the presence of so many of them on the poperty. While they provide him cover, they're also likely to be providing the shooter's cover, as well. He continues to shoot at where he thinks the shot that killed Max came from.

But then, one comes from a completely different direction, and the bullet grounds itself into his right bicep. He hears the bone crack just before the pain flares.

Jason feels another shot fly disturbing close to his head and deems it necessary to get the hell out of there before he ends up like Max and Cody. He slips backwards, gritting his teeth against the searing pain burning in his arm, and runs.

***

"Smecker said tha' Morgan and the wiz kid live together, aye?" Murphy asks, even as Conner sulks about having lost their target and then having turned up an empty house in search of Sonny. They're back at their safe house, restocking their supply of weaponry before they head out again.

"Yea, why?"

"We'll go there, take out the kid, and wait fer Morgan to get back." He makes a quick call to Smecker to update him on their activities and then they're off, armed with the address from Smecker's previous briefing. "C'mon now."

***

Jason ends up in the ER, despite his attempts to avoid it. He passes out somewhere between the late Callum Donovan's territory and Kelly's. Someone must have called 911 for him, and he's beyond lucky that neither the 'Saints' nor any remaining Irish goons happened upon him first.

It's Patrick who catches him in the ER, having flown through triage and quickly landing himself with a doctor. And Jason is just waking up again when Dr. Drake attempts to examine his arm. He pulls away, which his arm seems to think is a bad idea.

"Get off of me." He grumbles, and tries again, despite the pain. Patrick motions two nurses over and their combined effort is enough to give the doctor a good look at Jason's arm.

"Not so fast there, buddy." Patrick declares. "That's broken, you're bleeding, and the police are going to want to have a word with you over that gunshot wound. So, unless you'd prefer to be restrained or sedated, I suggest you stay still and let me do my job." A long pause and a deathly glare from his patient follow. "Sooner you let me start, the sooner you're done."

Jason huffs and stops resisting, offering his useless arm. "Fine."

"Glad we could come to an agreement." Patrick passes him off to one of the nurses. "Get him to x-ray."

***

"Has there been any word from Stone Cold or Max?" Spinelli inquires, as he and Milo go about waiting for their return. With orders to stay put, and Milo intent on obeying them, there's not much else to do.

The guard sighs. "Not yet." He answers, and focuses on making sure the penthouse is secure. "I'm gonna go downstairs and check things out."

Spinelli nods, his attention on his computer, trying to track down any more information on the alleged 'Saints of South Boston' – and everywhere else, apparently.

Milo exits the penthouse and proceeds down to the ground floor, leaving Spinelli behind.

***

"E'nt tha' the other bodyguard? The brother?" Murphy notes, upon spotting the suit clad figure exiting the building's main entrance.

"If he's any good, he'll be walking perimeter. We can catch 'im round 'back." Conner points out, and starts to move off toward the rear of the complex, but his brother stops him. "Oi, c'mon. We dunno how much time we've got 'til Morgan gets back."

The younger remains where he stands. "Leave him fer now. We need to deal with wiz kid up there b'fore he can get word ta Morgan. The guard can wait."

Conner rolls his eyes. "And would ye rather 'ave to deal with the guard now, or later, while we're tryin' to fight off Morgan?"

"Look, yeah?" Murphy argues, and points to the building down the street. It's abandoned and partially boarded up. "How 'bout we grab the guard, get him away from the building and kill him in there?" He gestures up toward the penthouse levels of Harbor View Towers. "So we don' make it obvious we're here. The kid already knows we'll be after him."

"Fine." Conner grumbles. "Aye, good plan."

***

"Looks like we got lucky." Patrick says, as he examines the x-ray's of Jason's shoulder. "The bullet's still in there, but you only cracked the bone. Normally it would have shattered, which would have required me to coerce you into consenting to surgery. So..."

"How long?"

"A while. We need to get the bullet out and give you a cast, and the cops are waiting for you." The doctor explains. "I'll go have the procedure set up."

"Fantastic." He grumbles, as Patrick walks away. He checks the clock - he should really get back soon. If these 'Saints' are after him, they're likely to be after Spinelli, too. "Hope he can stay out of trouble for more than five minutes."

***

A well placed bump to the head knocks an oblivious Milo Giambetti into unconsciousness, leaving the twins to carry him to the secondary location.

"Fuck, Conn," Murphy grumbles, with the unconscious man slung over his shoulder. "Why don' ye carry 'im fer a bit?"

The elder turns to grin at his brother as he leads them towards the abandoned building. "S'easy, Murph. It was yer idea."

Murphy glares, but continues on. "Fucker."

Slowly but surely, they make their way to the building and deposit a stirring Milo onto the ground. Taking out their guns, each brother has one hand steadying the half-conscious target.

"W-what's…. going on?" He blearily stutters out, trying to get his cloudy eyes to focus.

"_And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee…"_

***

"Alright," Robin tells him, as she drops the metal projectile on the tray of instruments used to extract it. "That's done."

Jason remains silent where he sits, and waits for further information.

"I'll just close that up and give you a sling for now, until we can get a cast on that."

***

Spinelli has gone upstairs in hopes of using one of the windows in Jason's room in order to locate the Missing in Action Milo who has yet to return. He sees nothing, and having checked all other available angles, he's out of ideas – short of going downstairs himself.

Before he can resolve himself to do just that – though it very well may mean incurring the wrath of Stone Cold – he hears voices approaching.

"Milo?" Spinelli tries, as he peeks around the corner from the steps. "Stone Cold?" Perhaps Milo simply happened upon Jason and Max on their return from… wherever it is that they went. Something is telling Spinelli that no such thing has occurred, however.

And his supposition is proven correct when two men, both armed and definitely dangerous, burst in through the front door. Without a doubt, these are Conner and Murphy MacManus, also known as the Saints.

Spinelli swallows audibly and ducks back up the stairs. While he is not exactly silent in his motions, he manages to run back to Jason's room and dive under the bed. It is not the manliest hiding place ever, but it will have to do.

"Aye, I think I heard 'im come up here." He hears a voice say in a distinctly Irish accent.

Spinelli bites his lips and tries not to breathe for fear it will give away his hiding place. Just a moment later, he sees boots approach and circle the bed.

"Dunno wha' the pink room is for, but he e'nt in there." Another voice says, and now both sets of boots are in front of him.

The shrill sound of Spinelli's cell phone utterly ruins his better-than-he-thought hiding place. The ringtone suggests that it's Maxie. And she could not have picked a worse time to call him. His hand shuffles through his pocket for the device and he attempts to silence it, but he's too late, instead of boots, he now sees knees. And then hands.

"Ye are a hard one ta find, Mr. Spinelli." One of the voices says, and now two heads come into view. One blonde and the other brown haired.

"The Jackal must warn you, that while he may not be well-trained with a firearm, he does, in fact, have f-fists of fury!" Spinelli hopelessly declares, even as the brunette one grabs his ankle and drags him out. He tries to cling to the bed frame, but the other waves his gun in Spinelli's direction and he relinquishes his grip.

The two brother's exchange looks once Murphy has hold of his captive. "Oi, you've got ta be shittin' me." He says, upon looking this supposed FBI-watch-listed character over. He looks like a college kid. Not someone wanted for treason. "We sure this is the right one?"

"Damian Spinelli?" Conner asks, and their hostage remains silent, but that is enough to answer their question. "Aye." He takes the phone from Spinelli's pocket and checks the call log. "Doesn't look like he's talked ta Morgan since earlier."

Spinelli renews his struggles now that Conner's gun is aimed elsewhere. "Stone Cold will make you pay dearly, Brotherly Butchers!" Spinelli declares, kicking and railing against Murphy's hold on him.

The younger brother snorts at him, clearly not particularly amused by the nickname, and let's go, seeing fit to simply block the door. "Easy there, don' go hurtin' yerself b'fore we can."

Less than threatened, Conner tucks his gun into his jeans and stands beside his brother as Spinelli looks for an escape.

"You… you…. Vigilante heathens!" Spinelli snaps, letting his vocabulary do the fighting for him. "Perhaps you could pull the wool over the eyes of others, but the Jackal is aware of your bloody and merciless past!" He rushes forward again and attempts to wrestle the gun from Murphy's pocket, but Conner's gun is out and aimed again.

With the gun pressed against the back of Spinelli's head, the hacker stills in his movements. "Sit down. Now." Conner growls, and leads the boy back to the edge of the bed, only pulling away once their foolishly brave captive is seated. "Do not move."

Spinelli is still babbling away as the two draw the blinds in the room and block the door. "Kill me if you must, but please do not harm Stone Cold." Spinelli says quietly, as he watches Conner's gun intently.

Murphy pulls out his own gun, too. "Now that's one I haven' heard b'fore." He comments.

"When's Morgan comin' back here?" Conner demands, ignoring the pleadings of the panicking computer hacker.

At that question, Spinelli freezes, seeming to realize their ulterior motive in not shooting him then and there. "The Jackal… does not know. Perhaps he wisely fled our humble town already." He lies, because he knows Jason wouldn't do that with all that's going on, even though it would be smart.

Conner shakes his head. "Ya believe that, Murph? I don' think Morgan would go runnin' anywhere. S'how the mob works. Ya don' jus' get to walk away."

Spinelli bites his lip and drops his head. "The Jackal would not tell you Stone Cold's location even if it was known."

"How noble." Conner snorts, and returns to flipping through Spinelli's phone. "Assumin' that this 'Stone Cold' person ya keep ramblin' about is Morgan, it looks like we can jus' call 'im up ourselves." Conner sits down besides their hostage on the bed. "Yer gonna talk to 'Stone Cold' fer us. Tell 'im anything about Murph and I bein' here, and we'll kill you slowly. Tell 'im that ya need 'im to come back here. Nothin' else." Conner sets the barrel of his gun against Spinelli's kneecap and puts his finger on the trigger, and Murphy sits on his opposite side, his gun pressed to Spinelli's head. "Got it?"

Spinelli manages a weak nod.

Conner puts the phone on speaker and dials the contact dubbed 'Stone Cold'.

It rings once, twice. On the third ring, Jason picks up. "Spinelli, you okay?"

Spinelli closes his eyes, prepared for the inevitable. They're going to kill him anyway, so why draw Jason into it, too? "Stone Cold, I love you. Please don't come home."

A gunshot echoes through the room.


	3. Chapter 3

[Saints & Martyrs]

**_Okay, couple things. One: lots and lots of character death. It's the Saints, what did you expect, puppies and - you know what? Let's stay away from the Saints and animals. Just to be safe. Two: Ugh, also, this fic takes place in kind of an AU where the Zacchara's aren't around. Three: OC's are mine. This was supposed to be the last part, but, I lied. LJ seems decidedly opposed to a 5000 word chapter, so, therefore, there is now going to be an epilogue of sorts. It'll be up tomorrow sometime. I don't feel like fighting with my computer anymore tonight. Enjoy the cliffhanger?  
_**

* * *

**-III-**

Jason still doesn't have a cast on his arm, but he could really care less when he hears that sound over the phone. He jumps up, and dodges out of the room and through the gaggle of people milling about the ER. He sees Commissioner Scorpio with Lucky Spencer and the same unfamiliar man in an FBI windbreaker he'd seen on the docks earlier during the investigation of Peter Doyle's death, and stealthily manages to avoid them.

Recalling that he doesn't have a car, and his bike is still back at the Penthouse, and that he probably couldn't drive even if he had either of those, he stops when he catches sight of Robin.

"I need your car." He says, with no further explanation.

She blinks at him in clear surprise. "You expect me to just… give you my car? You need to get your arm casted, Jason. You're in no condition to be driving."

Jason refuses to explain the situation to her, because he knows that she'll tell Mac, which is the last thing he needs. If Spinelli is…. He can't even bring himself to think that. But, if he has so much as a bruise on him, Jason is going to need to not be on police radar. "It's an emergency, and I need to get back to the Penthouse." He says, and levels her with his Stone Cold stare, though it seldom actually works on her. "Can you give me a ride? Please."

"My keys are in the locker room." She sighs.

***

"Tha' was a very fuckin' bad idea." Conner informs Spinelli, who is currently rolling on the ground clutching his wounded knee, howling in pain. The shot Conner fired undoubtedly shattered his kneecap, but it feels much more like his leg was simply severed at the knee. There's blood covering his hands and shorts, staining the floor and the blankets of Jason's bed.

"Aye, now stop yer squirmin'. It e'nt that bad." Murphy agrees, as he hauls Spinelli back onto the bed, despite his wound.

Still clutching his knee, and curled into himself quite compactly, Spinelli clenches his teeth and attempts to regain the ability to speak, or curse, or glare enough to make his captors spontaneously burst into flame – really, he's not picky. Instead, he grabs the barrel of Conner's gun with his free hand and presses it to his own head.

"Th' fuck are ye doin'?" The elder brother demands, and easily manages to pull it away given Spinelli's blood slicked hand.

"The Ace of Cyberspace… pleads that the Brotherly Butchers do not harm Stone Cold. He does not fit the mould of the ones you so mercilessly hunt. He has only killed in self-defense, or in defense of innocents, like yourselves." Spinelli pauses, fighting for breath as he struggles against the pain to get the words out, which he is doing at a rather insane speed. "However, if you insist on breaking your well-established pattern and slaying an innocent one, I ask that you kill the Jackal first, for I will not see Stone Cold be murdered by your hands."

***

Jason comes bursting into the penthouse prepared to see Spinelli… well, he's not sure he's prepared for that, actually.

Nothing seems amiss in the living room, except for the door, which has been kicked open. Nothing in any other room on the first floor. Upstairs, he finds no trace of Spinelli or the murderous brothers, at least until he reaches his own room.

"Drop the gun." Jason demands, his sights immediately set upon the man whose weapon is trained on Spinelli. With his left hand, he levels his gun at the blonde and draws his finger to the trigger. Spinelli is lying on the bed with something tied around his knee. There is an alarming amount of red staining various items around the room, as well as Spinelli himself. "Damn it, what the hell did you do to him?" He gapes, nearly sickened by the sight of Spinelli's injury. "Drop the gun now, or I swear to God, I will shoot you."

A movement from behind him interrupts his confidence as the bedroom door slams closed. He then finds himself tackled quite roughly to the ground. He lands on his injured arm and ends up without his gun as a result of the subsequent struggle.

"Ya should really get tha' looked at, Morgan." Murphy grins, as he empties the mobster's weapon and dismantles it before pocketing the gun.

Despite his now unarmed state, and the pain flaring in his arm, he stands and lunges back at his attacker landing a satisfying punch with his good hand before he hears Spinelli whimper, which effectively stops him in his attack. The blonde one's finger is hovering perilously close to the trigger, with the barrel pressed harder against Spinelli's head.

"Easy, Morgan." He warns, nodding towards the leg wound. "Don' go tryin' anythin' stupid like yer boy there did."

"Aye, ya prolly shoulda listen'd to that warnin' he gave ya. S'what got him shot." The one who disarmed him says, his own gun now aimed at Jason. "Now. Where can we find yer boss?"

Jason steels himself for the conversation to come, tearing his eyes away from the injured Spinelli. "I'm not telling you a damn thing until you let Spinelli go."

"Oh, I think yer gonna tell us anythin' we wanna know. Eh, Conn?" The brunette one prompts, nodding to his brother in some sort of silent message.

In response, Conner tugs at mercilessly at the tie on Spinelli's knee, which makes the hacker cry out in agony. "Don' make us ask again, yeah?"

"Spinelli's never killed anyone!" He growls out, furious as he helplessly watches Spinelli's pain. "He's never hurt anyone! He shouldn't be on your hit-list. "

"Oi, he's gotten 'imself on some pretty importan' lists already." The other one, presumably Murphy counters. "Hasn't he?"

Realizing what list the man is talking about, Jason is quick to respond. "The FBI only used him as a pawn to get to me. He only hacks if someone close to him is in danger; most of the time he works legitimately as a P.I. You have no reason to touch Spinelli."

Speaking of Spinelli, the bleeding boy is shaking where he lies; his head has been turned away from the three of them, mostly away from the gun, as he clutches at his knee. But, now, for the first time since Jason's arrival, he finally attempts to talk. "Stone Cold, it is a futile argument. There is no reasoning with the infamous Saints on the issue at hand."

"Aye, listen to yer boy." Conner agrees. "We're gonna kill ya both. Just as soon as ya get on with tellin' us where yer boss is hidin' out."

"Let Spinelli go, and I will tell you anything you want to know." Jason attempts to compromise again.

Again, Conner shakes his head at the effort. "Look, Morgan. We don' need ya to tell us. It jus' saves us a bit o' time if ya do. Ya don' have anythin' to bargain with here."

A Jason existing in a pre-Spinelli era would not even be able to comprehend what he is about to say, but this is not a Jason living in a pre-Spinelli world. "Let him go, and I will take you directly to Sonny's hideout." This is a Jason living in a world where Spinelli is quite possibly the most important person in his life.

That gets everyone's attention. The brother's trade dubiously inclined looks, just as an utterly mortified Spinelli exclaims his protest.

"No, Stone Cold! Betraying Mr. Sir will not escape us from this situation." He insists, quite vehemently.

"I'm not trying to save both of us, Spinelli. I'm trying to save you." Jason answers, as the brothers seem to silently debate their target's proposition.

Spinelli falls eerily silent at that information, just as Conner and Murphy reach some sort of decision on the issue.

"Ya take us directly ta Corinthos and yer boy gets ta live." Conner says. "Any hint that yer betrayin' us, and we keep ya alive long enough to come right back here and let ya watch."

Jason nods. "I understand." He motions to their very effective bargaining chip. "I want a minute alone with Spinelli before we go."

The brothers share another look, and seem to be thinking that request over when Jason takes a slow step toward the bed, and watches the twins' reaction to his move. In wordless response, Conner shifts away from Spinelli.

Silently, Conner slides off of the bed as Jason slowly approaches, step for step, though he does keep his gun trained on the injured hacker. "We're stayin' in here." He explains, once they've completely traded places in the room.

Jason glares, but says nothing to them. "Spinelli," He tries, and sets his good hand on Spinelli's still shaking shoulder. "Come on, look at me."

Spinelli's once again buried head slowly turns. "The Jackal most insistently disagrees with this plan of yours, Stone Cold."

"I know." Jason answers, and his eyes fall to the blood stained pillow case the Saints must have used to staunch the bleeding from Spinelli's gunshot wound. "How's the knee?"

"Quite painful, honestly." He answers, and motions to Jason's arm. "How's the shoulder?"

"Less painful that yours." He assures as he assesses Spinelli's injury as best he can. He should probably get to the hospital quickly. "Don't talk to anyone except Robin and Diane, okay? Then get out of town once you're good to go."

"Stone Cold…"

"S'enough." Murphy calls, cutting off their conversation by waving his gun. "Time ta go."

Jason glares quickly over his shoulder and returns his attention to Spinelli for a moment. "I'm sorry we didn't get to try this out. Love you, too." He says, and presses their lips together for a few, all too brief, seconds before he finds himself pulled away by one of the Saints.

***

The bloodshed surrounding them brings their total body count for today up to 13. Five of Donovan's crew, including Donovan himself, and eight of Corinthos' men. Mac paces the scene, where the Assistant Coroner – as the regular Coroner is ahead of him dealing with the Irish – tosses a sheet over the body of Max Giambetti and prepares him for transport back to the overflowing morgue.

Before the Commissioner can further curse the existence of living in such a mob related community, Lucky jogs up to him with a police radio in hand. "We've got another one, just across from Jason's place."

"Which side?"

" No ID yet." He explains, and they're off again to deal with body number fourteen.

***

Jason sits in silence in the back of the SUV the brothers have somehow obtained, glancing between his watch at the road. "Call an ambulance for Spinelli."

"I think not." Murphy snorts, sitting beside Jason while his brother drives.

"I didn't agree to this so Spinelli could bleed out on my bedroom floor." He growls out, flexing his painfully zip-tied hands behind his back. "Call anonymously, whatever. Just call."

Conner nods to his brother in the rearview mirror. "Aye, do that."

Murphy, in back with Jason, pulls out one of the disposable pre-paid things they use and lose when they need to contact Smecker. "Pull over." He says, with a nod toward their captive, Morgan doesn't need to hear this since he doesn't intend to dial 911.

***

The new crime scene reveals another mark against the Corinthos-Morgan side of things. This similarly executed body once belonged to Milo Giambetti. Smecker and Commissioner Scorpio are taking in the scene when the FBI Agents cell phone rings and the man promptly excuses himself.

"Not a good time, here, boys." He says, once a good few yards away from the other officers. "Mommy has work to do."

"As we are well aware." Comes the voice of the younger MacManus brother. "Morgan's takin' us ta Corinthos in exchange for the wiz kid." He explains. "We 'ad ta blow out his knee, first, though. He's at Morgan's. Ya might wanna get ta him b'fore he bleeds to death. Make sure he doesn' talk till we're out of town."

Smecker hangs up without a word further and returns to the crime scene. He takes a moment to assess the familiar elements and steps up beside the Commissioner. "Just one quick question." The Agent says, motioning to the scene. "The guard works for Mr. Morgan, correct? And we are currently but one building away from where he happens to reside. So, has anyone thought to –check- on Mr. Morgan and Mr. Spinelli's current states of well-being?"

Mac glares and the trio of himself, Smecker, and Lucky head in the direction of Harbor View Towers.

***

"Am I just supposed to trust that you called for help and not to have some friend of yours come along and kill him?" Jason asks, when Murphy climbs back into the SUV.

Getting more and more frustrated by their hostage's continued nitpicking, Conner groans. "Yeah, ya are, actually. S'how things work when yer not the one with a gun." He motions to the split in the road ahead of them. "Well, then. Which way?"

***

Spinelli is still curled up on the bed right where Jason and the Saints left him when the officers arrive. He hears them clear the first floor and spread out on the second before one of them reaches him.

"Damn it, it's Spinelli." Mac notes, upon entering. Maxie isn't going to like that phone call. He approaches his daughter's ex-boyfriend and takes quick note of his injuries. "We need the medics up here!" He calls, and he can hear Lucky chattering away on the radio as he and Smecker finish clearing the penthouse.

In the meantime, Mac tries to keep Spinelli conscious. "Hey, Spinelli. Do you know who did this to you? Who killed Max and Milo and Cody?" He asks, shaking the kid lightly.

All he gets is an unintelligible mumble in reply. Something that sounds almost like a 'shush'ing noise, followed by a whispered answer of "Stone Cold… is in most perilous danger." He's not even surprised that the other's are all dead at this point.

Following where such a statement could lead given what's been going on, he prods further. "Do you know where he is?"

"Mr. Sir's…" Spinelli answers, just as Lucky and Smecker come barging in.

Spinelli's eyes narrow in confusion at the sight of the familiarly unfamiliar FBI Agent from the docks this morning. Was that really only this morning?

"Agent Smecker, could you get some of your men out looking for Morgan? I doubt he's going to react well to this." He suggests, with note of Spinelli's silenced hint. "Keep it quiet, of course, we don't need him finding out through some other source."

The name rings in Spinelli's mind as the Agent walks a few feet away to make whatever calls are necessary, but Spinelli suspects he already has men with Jason. The name Smecker showed up in several articles involving the Saints' start in South Boston, and the courthouse vigilantism incident involving a rather big mob trial for a man named Yakavetta. The case was Smecker's and it was used by Conner and Murphy as their public debut. That, combined with Smecker showing up now, in Port Charles, erases all doubts in Spinelli's mind that the Agent is in collaboration with the brothers. It certainly explains why they were never caught.

"Your Commissionership!" Spinelli calls to Mac's retreating form, as he doesn't want to be left alone with the Saint's third man. If he hasn't been informed of – or even if he has and this is part of it – then who knows what he might do to cover for Conner and Murphy. His call goes unheard and Smecker just stands there staring at him. "I know you're in on it, too."

The paramedics interrupt anything Smecker might have said in response.

***

Sonny is, as Jason expected, all alone in the safe house, he's sitting on the couch and sipping some amber liquid from a glass when Jason and the Saints arrive. They send him in first, to make sure no guards are lingering about – they're not particularly worried, because they know that he knows that they can turn around and track down Spinelli if he disobeys them.

"Jason," Sonny says, spotting his second in command as he steps into the room. "Is it all taken care of?"

"Not exactly, no." He says, and now that his hands are finally unzip-tied, he sees that they're covered in blood. Spinelli's blood. He feels his stomach roll in protest at the sight.

Sonny spots it, too. "Donovan dead?"

"Yeah, but this is… isn't Donovan's blood." Jason answers. "It's Spinelli's. They… they shot Spinelli."

Sonny seems unconcerned with that news, waving a dismissive hand. "You should know better than to take that no good kid out with you. He can't shoot his way out of a paper bag."

Jason shakes his head and levels his employer with a pointed glare. "I didn't. He was safe, at home, in the Penthouse with Milo. Who is dead. Milo, Max, Cody. All dead." That revelation seems to get Sonny's attention, but before he can interrupt, Jason finishes. "The Irish, too. All dead before Max and I even got there."

Sonny's confusion gives way to something not unlike panic, and Jason hangs his head.

"I'm sorry about this, Sonny. But I had no choice. I wasn't going to let Spinelli die because of us." Jason moves to open the door he entered through and he steps aside as one of the Saints enters the room, the other having circled around back to use the basement entrance Jason had informed them of.

Sonny, still gaping in shock and his eyes burning with anger, finds himself knocked to his knees by the brown haired brother. "You betrayed me for your Freak Boy?" He gapes, as reality sets in on what the intruders – assassains, whatever – intend to do. "I made you, Jason. I turned you into what you are today and you just decided to hand me over to these murderers so some insane hacker kook can live? How can you choose Spinelli over me?"

Murphy snorts at their targets arrogance, and answers for Jason. "Prolly has somethin' ta do with the fact tha' he isn' askin' for a minute alone ta make out with you."

Jason glares, and Sonny starts on a long string of curses and expletives that end abruptly when the brothers step up behind him, guns pressed against the back of his head.

***

It's not until Spinelli's in the hospital, suitably dosed with pain meds and waiting for an OR that Smecker finally does get the hacker alone. Mac is busy with trying to hunt down Sonny and Jason, and the FBI badge always does wonders for getting him past the doctors.

"So, Mr. Spinelli, I do believe you are quite possibly the first person to walk away from the Saints."

Spinelli, even in his drugged state, seems quite discomfited by the FBI Agent's presence. "The Jackal deduced that you would be well aware of such a thing," He answers, shifting to sit more upright in the hospital bed.

"The Jackal?" Smecker raises a curious eyebrow at the nickname. "And, as I've heard, Morgan is Stone Cold, is that right?"

"Affirmative." Spinelli responds, warily watching the Agent. "The Brotherly Butchers do not kill innocent parties, of which Stone Cold should definitively classify."

Smecker seems uninterested in such an idea. "Jason Morgan is a mobster, a killer. He's gotten away with his crimes for long enough, and now he's being brought to justice. You should want that, after all, the only crime he was ever formally charged with was for shooting you."

"Stone Cold did no such thing. In order to keep his Jackal out of the perilous Port Charles prison system, he took the blame after the Ace of Cyberspace shot himself in the foot while training with Stone Cold's weapon. He was unaware that the Jackal had even taken possession of the weapon." Spinelli explains, even though it could likely get him in trouble, but at this point, he does not care. If Jason's still alive, and Smecker listens to him, maybe he can save Jason – some jail time would be worth that. "Any crime Stone Cold has committed has been in defense of someone innocent, just as your Brotherly Butchers do, Secret Saint."

"Oh, I get my own nickname, do I? I'm touched. Got any examples for me that prove Morgan is such a," He snorts, "…well, a Saint?"

He takes a moment to consider that this could be a trap. Smecker does work for the FBI. If Spinelli gives him enough, he can have Jason arrested if he does manage to escape being killed.

The Agent seems to notice Spinelli's hesitance, and he spins the chair beside the bed around and sits, leaning against the back of it with his chin propped up on one hand. "Look, kid." He starts, "I'm just curious. They don't usually make deals or leave survivors. And I don't think they've ever had anyone try to make a deal to save someone else." He waves a dismissive hand, "So, off the record."

"Fair enough," Spinelli supposes, and tries to think of the least incriminatory examples he can, just in case. "The Metro Court Hostage Crisis, for one. Stone Cold and I were the main elements acting to free the hostages held by the decidedly deranged Jerry Jacks, despite demands that we not be involved by the police." A pause as he thinks of another. "More recently, the son of Nurse Elizabeth, Stone Cold's long time friend, was kidnapped by the Slavic Seductress, Sasha Donev. In his attempts to rescue young Jake, several of Donev's men were slain by Stone Cold." Another instance comes to mind, as well, this one not at all accusatory. "And, whilst Stone Cold was sentenced to work here as community service in punishment for the crime he did not commit, he saved the life of the Charmed One, who would most surely have perished without his involvement."

"Charmed One?" Smecker asks, having followed the rest of Spinelli's rant rather well up to that point. "Who's the Charmed one?"

"The Charmed One is Baby Rebecca Sloan." The hacker explains. "Stone Cold and the Jackal were trapped in an elevator with the Maternal One, whilst she was in labor. As she was in dire need of a c-section, due to both a medical condition and her HIV status, Stone Cold was forced to perform an impromptu surgery on her in order to save the baby, with the Jackal's cyber skills as a guide. Alas, the Charmed One's mother later died as a result of her medical condition."

"Spinelli, the OR is free now, so we need to take you up." Robin tells him, materializing in the doorway.

Smecker stands and moves aside so the doctor can work on prepping her patient for the move to the OR. "Nice chat." He says simply, and walks out, leaving Spinelli behind to wonder whether or not he'd done anything in the way of saving Jason.

***

The last five minutes of Sonny's life are spent screaming at Jason in absolute rage. He doesn't even seem to register what the two armed men behind him intend to do. He's too busy calling Jason out on how stupid and brain damaged he'd have to be to actually want to be with someone as weird and useless as Spinelli.

By that time, Jason almost wishes that they would just get on with it. "You two better do this soon or I'm shooting him myself."

The brother's share a quick look that borders on amusement and begin their recitation of the prayer. "_And shepherds we shall be, for Thee my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command.__ And we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti." _

Jason just watches on as they both squeeze the triggers of their respective guns and suddenly Sonny Corinthos is no more. He thought he would have reacted more to the man's death, but after hearing how much hatred he was hiding for Spinelli, it almost seemed a small price to pay to ensure his Jackal's safety.

"Christ, is he always tha' big of a prick?" Conner asks, as he tosses two pennies to Murphy, and trains his own gun on Jason, just in case.

"He didn't like that I trusted Spinelli." Jason answers, as Conner crosses the room to zip-tie his bloody hands again. "That I brought Spinelli into the organization in the first place."

The brother's are both ready to end their job in Port Charles, which means ending Jason, as well. They circle around, and Conner nudges him until the man falls to his knees.

Jason bites his lip. "Can you do one more thing?"

"Wha's tha'?"

"Call the hospital. I want to know that Spinelli's safe." Jason requests, and given his cooperation, the brother's trade sighs and Murphy once again pulls out his phone and dials Smecker. Under the guise of talking to hospital staff – with which Smecker plays along – he asks after Spinelli's condition.

"He's in surgery." Murphy reports upon hanging up. "Looks good."

Jason nods and resigns himself to his fate. They're going to kill him, but Spinelli is alright. Spinelli's going to live.

Conner and Murphy nod to each other in silent signal and raise their guns again. Jason hangs his head and waits.

"_And shepherds we shall be…"_


	4. Chapter 4

[Saints & Martyrs]

**_ Okay, couple things. One: lots and lots of character death. It's the Saints, what did you expect, puppies and - you know what? Let's stay away from the Saints and animals. Just to be safe. Two: Ugh, also, this fic takes place in kind of an AU where the Zacchara's aren't around. Three: OC's are mine. This is the last part, so I hope you enjoy!  
_**

* * *

**-IV-**

The room is nothing but a fuzzy blur in front of him when he wakes, his throat sore and his muscles totally uncooperative. The anesthesia must still be pretty concentrated in his system, he figures, once he realizes that he is, indeed, still in General Hospital. With considerable effort, he lifts his head enough to examine his wounded leg. It's casted and bandaged with a sizeable amount of supplies, but at present it doesn't hurt. Which is certainly a nice change.

Exhausted just from that small task, his head falls back against the bed and he passes out again.

***

"What do you mean, it'll just stop now?" Mac demands of the strange FBI Agent currently packing up his supplies. "We still don't know who was responsible!"

Smecker sighs impatiently and rolls his eyes. "I am aware of that. But, seeing as they went through all of the targets they could have had here, your vigilante's are undoubtedly moving on to somewhere else. Your city is safe again. So just let my department handle the rest and don't worry you're pretty little head about a thing." He shrugs into his coat and makes for the door, anxious to escape the crazy town of Port Charles, New York.

"Good riddance." He hears the Commissioner shoot in his general direction.

"Same to you, jackass." He grumbles.

***

The next time Spinelli wakes up, he is in considerable pain, so much so that he wakes up screaming and thankfully ends up simply passing right back out again. Robin is there, he thinks, talking to him as she sedates him back into unconsciousness.

***

"Oi, catch," Conner calls, tossing his brother's bag across the room to its owner. They've spent the better part of the day sanitizing their own safe house, making sure nothing is left behind that can tie them to any of the numerous murders.

Murphy slings the bag over his shoulder and grabs up one that contains most of their ammo. "Ya ready ta get out o' here?"

Conner nods. He's more than ready to put this one behind them. "Aye. C'mon. We gotta meet up with Smecker b'fore nightfall." It's their customary plan after finishing in a town, once they've decided what they're next move will be. This time, they're taking a break for a bit before heading out to the next job, flying below the radar after the well publicized slayings in Port Charles.

"Can ya believe he talked us inta tha'?"

***

Spinelli wakes up this time in a bit of pain, but nothing unbearable. His vision is clear and no doctors are present to pester him. It's also when he discovers that he isn't alone in the room. Someone is sleeping in the chair beside him. That someone is cast in the shadow of the dark room, but Spinelli would recognize him anywhere.

"Stone Cold?" He calls out in utter disbelief.

Slowly at first, but then quite rapidly, Jason stirs, blue eyes blinking as he returns to consciousness.

"Stone Cold!" Spinelli repeats. "You're… alive? How are you alive?" He demands, one arm reaching out for the man who sacrificed himself to save him.

Jason slides to sit on the edge of the bed, his right arm encased in a plaster cast not unlike the one on Spinelli's leg. However, he is not interested in answering Spinelli's question. Instead, he ducks his head and presses a kiss to Spinelli's hospital chapped lips, brushing the hair away from his face with his good hand.

Spinelli kisses back like it's the last chance he'll ever get. After all, the last time they'd kissed, he had thought it would be. Now, now that Jason is alive and safe and here, he's not letting go anytime soon.

"How's the arm?" Spinelli asks when they finally do break apart – just before the machines monitoring his condition would have alerted the medical personnel.

"It's alright." The elder answers, with his typical Stone Coldness. It takes a lot of pain to bother Jason. "How's the knee?"

"Endurable, for the present moment, it seems." Spinelli answers, just as he catches sight of some rather reddened looking marks on Jason's uncasted arm, and he suspects that they're under the plaster, as well. "The Saints were not terribly trusting, I take it?"

Jason shakes his head. "Not for the driving part." He unconsciously rubs at where the mark on his wrist would be if not for the cast. "Once we got into Sonny's they untied me."

Which reminds Spinelli of a rather relevant question. "Were the Brotherly Butchers successful in their attempts to eliminate Mr. Sir?"

"Yeah, Sonny's dead. Max and Milo, too. If you haven't heard." He shrugs. Max and Milo, he'll miss. Sonny… not so much.

But, in all seriousness, Spinelli returns to his previous inquiry. "How were you able to escape the not-so-Saintly ones, Stone Cold?"

Jason shifts, bracing himself with his good arm to get more comfortable. "That weird FBI Agent who took over Raynor's job showed up." Spinelli nods for him to continue, and Jason figures he already figured out Smecker's involvement with Conner and Murphy. "He stopped the Saints and changed the terms of the deal. Either you and I leave the mob and Port Charles or they come back and finish what they started."

First and foremost, Spinelli is beyond grateful that Smecker took his half-drugged arguments concerning Jason's criminal past to heart and acted on them. He lets out a relieved sigh and lets his head drop back against the pillows for a moment, his hand curling around Jason's good one. "When?"

"Once your leg is a little better." He's not sure if there's a time limit on the Saints offer, but he's certainly not taking any chances with Spinelli's safety, or with his own. "I'll find us a place, and then we'll get out of here."

"But not now?"

Jason smiles. "Not now," He answers, and kisses Spinelli once more. Something he'll look forward to doing a lot more of once they start their new life away from the danger of both mob life and the Saints.


End file.
